Last Chance
by YaoiBunny8702
Summary: As he and his friends travel down the freeway, Akira reminisces back on a certain detective. This moment of silence with his friends used to make him feel so free, but that was before the resets started. This time, however, things are different. Akira has been given one last chance by some unforeseen miracle to save the lost cause known as Goro Akechi.
1. 1: Back in Time?

"If you wanna change the world, all you have to do is just look at it differently… am I right?" Ryuji sat back in his seat after giving his surprisingly inspirational monologue. It's true, Akira realized, that that was the very moral of their story. Ryuji turned to Akira, a crooked smile adorning his face.

"And THAT is what "aesthetics" are." He declared as he playfully nudged Akira's shoulder, right on cue. As always, Akira smiled in response. "...Yeah."

There was a long moment of silence, and Akira wanted to scream, wanted to rip the hair out of his head in frustration. This first time around, this moment had been so freeing. It had made him feel as though there wasn't a thing in this entire world that could hold him down. Then, everything just _reset_. Just as the credits came to an end, everything froze, and the world closed in on him. And just like that, when he opened his eyes, he was on the train into Tokyo once again, ready to serve another year of probation.

Akira found he could no longer count the number of times he's done this; sent to Tokyo on probation, discovered the Metaverse with Ryuji, formed the Phantom Thieves, took down a bunch of rotten criminals, and saved the very world. Sometimes though, Akira tried different things, hoping that maybe if he changed the way the game was played, or if he didn't play the game at all and completely disregarded Yaldabaoth's insistent calls, this vicious cycle might finally come to an end, but nothing ever worked.

He waited with bated breath, waited for that quick flash of darkness. The van hummed quietly down the freeway, everyone sitting in companionable silence.

'_Has_ _it_ _always_ _taken_ _this_ _long_ _before?_' Akira silently speculated. A brief nod over his shoulder earned him kind smiles from Futaba and Haru. He forced a smile in return. There was still plenty of room in the back seat for an eighth passenger, he noted. Akira's mind wandered as he waited for the inevitable end that he knew was coming.

Goro Akechi, in Akira's experience, truly was a lost cause. During his first run, he'd been filled with such grief over his death. He foolishly believed that, had he just done things a little differently, he could have saved him. He had wept to himself the night after that dreadful fight in the boiler room, the event that marked Goro's fate, as he clutched his tie to his chest; Goro's "armor". If Morgana had heard, he understandingly didn't say anything.

The sad truth that Akira simply didn't want to admit was that Goro's fate was truly bound. He'd tried run after run to save him, but each time, in one way or another, he still ended up dead. Goro Akechi could not be saved.

"_Had_ _we_ _met_ _under_ _different_ _circumstances,_ _we_ _could_ _have_ _been_ _great_ _rivals..._ _or_ _perhaps_ _even_ _friends._" Akira smiled bitterly, staring down at his lap. Maybe he was right after all. If he could have instead met Goro way back, back before any of this even began, maybe things could have been different. '_As_ _if_ _that'd_ _ever_ _happen,_' Akira scoffed.

Then, as if taunting him, the world finally reset. Akira couldn't help but wince. It wasn't painful—in fact, he never felt a thing—but it was definitely jarring, to say the least. Opening his eyes, Akira braced himself for the sight of the packed train car but was instead met with the back of a car seat. _Pause_.

Akira's eyes darted around in bewilderment. There was only one other person in the car, an older woman with short brown hair behind the wheel, sighing frustratedly at the line of traffic ahead. On the seat next to him was a black trash bag filled with… _something_. Slung over his shoulders were the straps of a backpack. An odd feeling hit him then as he looked out the window; his head was barely high enough to see through the clear glass. Slowly, his eyes trailed down to look at himself, and horror rose up in his throat like bile. He was tiny. "_Child_" tiny. He nearly let out an undignified shriek, but then the woman was turning around and giving him a tired smile, which quickly turned into one of amusement as she took in his horrified expression.

"What's that look for? Was there a bug or something?" She chortled at him. Akira shook his head. "No. I'm not… afraid of insects," he trailed off. The woman's smile curved upward. "'_Insects_', huh? That's a pretty big word for a kid your age," she said softly, then turned back to face the road once again. Akira paled, feeling his stomach turn to stone.

' What the hell, ' his thoughts raced, '_what_ _the_ _hell_ _is_ _going_ _on?_ _What's_ _happening?_' Akira stared down at his small hands once again, whispering to himself, "Why is this happening to me?"

* * *

It was nearly two hours later when they finally reached their destination. There were several buildings in what looked like a small low-income housing neighborhood, with many of them being small apartment structures. The buildings were all very… white. The car pulled up outside the front gates, and the woman sat back and turned to look at him.

"Here we are, Akira-kun. Are you ready?" Akira stared back at her blankly and said not a word. She gave him a bittersweet smile. "I know you might now believe me now when I say this, but we truly want what is best for you. I hope you'll understand that when you get a little older," she spoke in a near-whisper before reaching back and gently ruffling his hair. "...Okay, grab your bag. We'll go introduce ourselves, okay?"

Not more than three minutes after they passed the gates, Akira realized what kind of place this was; there were children everywhere, running and playing, sitting by themselves, reading or drawing. This was an orphanage.

* * *

The woman Akira had come in with, who Akira guessed must be his social worker, had immediately been whisked to the office to fill out some information for Akira. A few minutes later, a young man approached him, a friendly smile on his face. He introduced himself as Takuto Maruki, one of the on-site staff workers.

"You must be pretty tired after that long ride down here, huh?" He bent down with his hands on his knees, and Akira wanted to smack him. Although Akira had 'woken up' just about two hours before they got here, his body still felt extremely stiff, as though he really had been sitting in that car for hours, so he nodded wordlessly at the man. He gave Akira a lopsided grin and motioned for him to follow, turning and heading towards one of the buildings. When they stepped inside, Akira was led into one of the rooms and found the left wall was lined with beds. Takuto pointed to the second bed from the wall. "We've got this bed here set up for you. We'll make some arrangements to get a space in the wardrobe for your clothes, but for now, you can set that down over there," he pointed to a dresser on the other side of the room. Still feeling awkward and weirdly jetlagged, Akira quietly shuffled into the room and set his bag down, taking the opportunity to also slip his backpack off as well. It was a solid dark blue with a little star keychain hanging from one of the zippers.

"Okay! So, I'm gonna show you the really important places, and then I'll take you to the lunch hall and you can get something to eat. Tomorrow, we'll go over the rest. Sound good?" Akira nodded and Takuto clapped his hands together resolutely. "Let's go, then!" Akira already felt exhausted just from this man's enthusiasm alone, but silently followed him around anyway, trying his best to remember each of the places he was being brought to. After all, he had no way of knowing if he was going to end up trapped like this. Surely, there had to be a reason why things turned out like this right? After all, didn't everything happen for a reason? Despite everything, when he was finally able to go to bed that night, he curled himself into a ball and squeezed his eyes shut, desperately hoping that when he woke up, he'd realize that all of this had just been some terrible dream. He'd sit up in his bed back home with none of this madness having ever happened.

He should have known better than to let himself foolishly cling to such a childish wish. He'd learned when the resets started happening that things like hope didn't exist in this world, whatever is was. He'd done everything he could to make it all stop. He'd protected all of his friends, and he'd killed of them, too. He even tried killing himself, but the moment that blade met the flesh of his wrists, he'd immediately been brought back to his last 'save point'.

And so, without even knowing how he ended up in such a place, his life here was already beginning… whether he wanted it or not. As his mind finally drifted past the threshold of unconsciousness, a deep penetrating voice somewhere in the back of his thoughts rang out; "I've granted you this one favor, so make the most of it. Just remember, though—this is your last chance."


	2. 2: A Friend in a Place Like This?

He woke up to the sound of loud talking and laughter. He quickly sat up in bed and immediately regretted it when the room spun. Akira brought a hand up to wipe the sleep from his eyes. What time was it? Had they planned a meeting today or had he just forgotten? He pried his eyes open, only to be met with bare white walls, and instead of his friends, there was a group of children he'd never met before all scurrying around the room.

'_Wha-_ _Where_ _the_ _hell_ _am_ _I?_' Akira's eyes darted around the room. One of the kids stopped in their tracks when they noticed Akira. A look of pure annoyance ran over his face as he sighed loudly. He walked over, stopped right in front of Akira, and jabbed a finger at him.

"Hey, new kid! Let's get something straight," he hissed out, and Akira was suddenly very aware of the fact that every other kid in the room had stopped to stare at them, "we've got some rules here. The adults might treat you real special, but you're the youngest one in this house, so you listen to what the rest of us say, _got_ _it?_" The kid glared.

"Y-yes," Akira quickly spat out, not wanting to have his face beaten in on his first actual day here. After all, while he may have the _mind_ of a seventeen-year-old, he still had the _body_ of a little kid.

"Hmph. Go get dressed, loser! The director wants to see you," the boy sneered before turning away. Before he left, he looked back at Akira with a malicious smirk. "Oh, and you're on laundry duty for the rest of the week! We had to move all of our clothes for you, so it's only fair, right?" With that, the kid left, laughing all the while. Slowly, Akira climbed out of bed with a long sigh and crossed the room to change his clothes. Kids were _cruel_.

* * *

"Ah, good to see you, Kurusu-kun. Please, come in," the woman smiled and motioned him in. She was a small, thin woman with long grey hair tied back in a bun. Her skin was wrinkled but her eyes were warm and kind, and she reminded Akira of someone. The office was small but rather welcoming in comparison to the rest of the place. A single painting of a field hung on the wall behind her. Akira sat down in front of the desk (which made Akira feel _really_ tiny), the chair creaking slightly under the weight. The woman gave him a small smile.

"My name is Kazue Hayashi, but just call me _Ms._ _Hayashi_. Now," she cleared her throat, clasping her hands on top of the desk, "I know things have been pretty tough for you the past couple of months, but we're going to do our best to make sure you'll feel at home here, okay?" The woman spoke with a kind voice.

"First things first, we're trying to get you a school uniform. We're hoping to get it tomorrow, so you should be able to start on Monday." Akira nodded, smiling for the first time since he found himself in the car on the way here.

"I heard you've already met Mr. Maruki, yes? After you have breakfast, he'll properly show you around. Ah, but before you go, I wanted to ask you for a favor," Ms. Hayashi stood up and made her way around the desk to kneel beside Akira so that the two were eye-to-eye. "There's another boy just about your age; you two are in the same room, I believe. Maybe this is asking a lot, but… Could you talk to him? He hasn't made any friends since he came here last spring. I think you two could get along really well," she placed a hand over his tiny one. Akira stared back at her, his large, round eyes filled with a sort of maturity, a sort of experience that children his age shouldn't have, and she was taken aback.

"Who is he?" Akira asked. Ms. Hayashi smiled at the messy-haired child. "His name is Goro. Goro Akechi." Those words alone shook Akira to his core. _Goro?_ Goro was _here?_ His shock must have shown on his face, because Ms. Hayashi quickly pulled back, a confused frown pulling at her lips. "Do you… know him?" Akira shook his head. '_Don't_ _act_ _surprised._ _We_ _haven't_ _met_ _yet._ _We_ _have_ not _met_ _yet._' He repeated this mantra in his head.

"No. I thought it sounded kinda familiar." Akira slowly responded. After a long moment, Ms. Hayashi finally gave him one last hesitant smile. "Okay. Do you think you could talk to him, at the very least?" she asked. Akira nodded again. She reached out and gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Thank you. Now, Taku- I mean, Mr. Maruki, should be out in the back yard. Do you know where that is?"

* * *

As soon as Akira was released from the director's office, he immediately ran to the back yard. The entire area was fenced off, but there were swings, there were toys, there was even a bicycle (which a few kids appeared to have been fighting over). Kids ranging from what appeared to be two or three-year-olds to teenagers were running wild throughout the back yard. Leaning up against the metal fence was Takuto, looking rather amused with the children's banter. Ignoring him, Akira stood with his face against the fence, looking out over the yard at the other children through the gaps, hoping to spot a certain brunette.

After a few moments, when he didn't see him, he thought that maybe he wasn't here after all. '_Maybe_ _he's..._ _somewhere_ _else?_' Then a group of kids parted and sure enough, there was Goro sitting all by himself, a book grasped tightly in his tiny hands. Akira's lit up. This _must_ be why he was brought here! Just then, Takuto seemed to have noticed him, his head turning to look down at him.

"Ah, there you are, Akira-kun," he called with a smile. Akira jumped, and oh, Takuto was headed his way. "Are you just going to watch," Takuto asked, looking increasingly amused. He wasn't sure why, but he found his face flushing hotly. He must have looked really silly just standing there watching everyone else. He stared up at the older man, shrugging his shoulders meekly, earning him a hearty chuckle.

"You should go try to make some friends. You'll need them, you know? Especially in a place like _this_." Takuto stated, eyes narrowing for a moment. He quickly shook his head, a smile on his face once more. "Don't worry, I can show you around later," Takuto tilted his head towards the yard, "now go ahead." Akira looked back towards Goro once again. He could see a cast of sorts on his leg, and there were several bandages peppered all over his arms and legs. He looked so… _lonely_. Having already made his choice, Akira pushed through the gate. "Yeah."

* * *

With his back against the tree, Goro sat on the grass, his legs pulled up so he could lean his book against them. He winced as a jolt of pain ran through his left leg. It hurt keeping it in this position, but that was okay. He was used to pain, after all.

While the other kids would rather play and were just fine leaving Goro well enough alone, Goro preferred to read. His favorites were fantasy stories; books about people going on fantastical adventures to foreign lands, meeting strangers and defeating ferocious dragons. Even graphic novels and manga were fun to read—the suspense he felt while following his favorite superhero duo during battles gave him a rush of excitement. Yes, these types of stories were Goro's favorites. They were a welcome escape from the harsh truth of reality.

Unfortunately, all good things must eventually come to an end. This disruption came in the form of another kid. He hadn't even noticed the other's approach until he was standing right over him. Anxiety already welling up inside him, he peeked up at the stranger from behind the safety of his book. He looked about as lost as Goro felt, his mouth hanging open dumbly for a long moment before he finally asked, "Um… What are you reading?"

Goro looked down at the book cover before holding it up a bit for the other to see. "It's one of the Featherman comics," he replied softly. The boy beamed, a twinkle in his deep grey eyes. "You like Neo Featherman, too?"

Goro lowered his book, gaping at the other in shock. He half expected the other boy to break out in laughter, to rip the book out of his hands and call him a nerd, _anything._ Instead, he grinned at Goro with such sincerity and asked, "can I read it with you?"

Out of everything that he could have said, this was somehow what Goro had least expected. Still, the boy was grinning down at Goro, a hopeful look in his eyes. This boy practically radiated energy, and it was seeming to be _infectious_.

"...Okay."

* * *

Goro spent a long while reading and talking with the new boy (who had introduced himself as Kurusu Akira). At first, they talked about the volume they were reading, which then turned into a conversation about the series in general, and then somehow, somewhere along the line, they'd started talking about their favorite superheroes, the comic discarded altogether.

Eventually, Mr. Maruki, the counselor on yard duty today, took him away. Akira had smiled brightly at him, had said, "I'll see you later!" before he left, making a warmth swell in Goro's chest. He couldn't remember the last time someone had smiled so genuinely at him, and he couldn't deny that he did have a lot of fun talking to him. Now sitting alone under the tree, Goro allowed himself a small smile. "See you later, Akira-kun."

* * *

Takuto showed Akira around the orphanage; where the library and multi-purpose room was, where the bathrooms and shower rooms were, and where the infirmary was.

"That last building over there is the nursery, y'know, where the younger kids live. The kitchen's there, too, but unless you have to talk to one of the cooks for something, you probably won't be in there too much." Takuto clapped his hands together. "And that's pretty much it. Any questions?" Takuto grinned down at Akira, who shook his head in turn. "Right. Well, if you need anything, you'll probably find me either on duty or in the infirmary. For now, though, you should probably head back to your room; it's almost curfew."

With that, Takuto left. Akira sighed to himself. He couldn't quite tell if that guy was really carefree or if he was just _lazy_. Either way, he headed back to his room to get dressed for the night. Ms. Hayashi had said that Goro was in the same room, so they should run into one another again, right? After he changed into his pajamas, he trudged into the bathroom to brush his teeth. The cabinet in the corner of the room was shared with each of the rooms in that building, so everyone had to keep their toiletries separate. Akira found a clear plastic bag with his name written on it, and inside was a new toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste. Each of the kids are given a monthly allowance—kids 6 to 10 years old receive 1000¥, and a couple of the orphanage's staff take them into town on the weekends if they want to buy something. The kids 11 to 14 receive 2000¥ (once you're 14, you're expected to get a part-time job if you want more money, although you're only allowed to have a weekend job working during the day) and can go into town on their own, granted they make it back before the curfew.

Even before Akira had finished, he could hear a bell ringing outside, and no more than a minute later, a group of kids started filtering into the building, their loud chatter echoing off the walls. He quickly rinsed his mouth out and put his toothbrush away, scurrying to get out of the bathroom before someone could yell at him for hogging it.

He snuck back into the room and buried himself under his bed covers and waited for everyone else to hurry in and go to sleep. A few moments passed and the door opened. Quiet feet padded across the room to the bed next to his, the one against the wall. Akira briefly poked his head out from underneath his cocoon to see none other than Goro crawling into his bed. A plain black t-shirt that looked about five sizes too big hung over his tiny shoulders. A sudden draft blew through the room and Akira's heart panged in his chest as Goro visibly shuddered even from underneath the sheets. Akira propped himself up on his elbows.

"Aren't you cold," he whispered. Goro's head snapped back to look at him, his eyes wide. "Akira-kun," he shifted so that he was facing Akira, "you're in here, too?"

"Yup. Don't you have a sweater you could wear?" Akira asked. Goro shook his head after a moment, eyes dropping to the thin mattress underneath him. "You can borrow one of mine."

"Huh?" Goro spluttered, and Akira was already sitting up. Goro scrambled to sit up as well. "I-it's fine! I'm not even cold—" another draft blew through the room and Goro wrapped the blanket tighter around himself. Akira stared back, face blank. Then he threw his covers back and made to get up.

"No, you can't!" Goro cried, hand shooting out to grasp his wrist. "You can't… You'll definitely freeze to death!" Akira gently pried him off and held a hand to his heart, closing his eyes with feigned seriousness. "But I must! If I don't make it back… tell my cat I love him."

And with that, Akira made a mad dash for the wardrobe, yelling like a lunatic all the while. A few curious heads peeked into the room, but neither boy paid them any mind. Akira fished one of his sweatshirts out of the drawer and practically hopped back across the room, yelping as the cold wooden floor nipped at his bare feet. He tossed Goro the sweatshirt and leaped back into bed, immediately pulling his legs up and thrusting them back under the sheets. He looked back at Goro, breath coming in gasps. "The floor is cold," Akira panted. They both stared at each other wordlessly for a long moment before breaking out into laughter.

Needless to say, Goro didn't fall asleep shivering that night, and if Akira stayed awake long after everyone settled in and went to sleep themselves just to grin stupidly at the way the brunette's lips curved upward in a soft smile in his sleep, or how he snuggled into his sweatshirt as though it were a fluffy cloud… Well, that was nobody's business but his own.


	3. 3: Surprise!

"Ah… Did I do this one right?" Akira glanced over at Goro's worksheet to the problem he'd been working on. "Yeah, you got it. Just remember to carry over the first digit if it gets to ten," he explained. Goro nodded with renewed vigor and set to work on the next equation. They worked in companionable silence for a few minutes before Goro flopped himself backward onto the floor with a defeated sigh. He looked over at Akira, who had already finished his worksheet.

"How are you so good at this, Aki-chan?" Akira's cheeks color at the nickname. It had already been a month since he'd been dropped into this weird timeline, but he'd already managed to become close to Goro. He'd even started calling Akira by that nickname (which never failed to throw Akira off; how could he take it seriously when it was spoken so sweetly in _Goro's_ voice?).

Akira shrugged non-committedly. "I've already learned this stuff, I guess," he looked off to the side. While he appreciated this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity he'd been given, it still didn't make having to repeat elementary school any less _mind-numbingly boring_. Goro groaned from on the floor, "lucky."

'_Not really_,' his mind supplied, but he chose not to say it aloud. "I'm good at math, but you're really good at reading and writing," he pointed out. Goro turned his head to the side and Akira could tell he was suppressing a smile. "I-I'm not really _that_ good," he chuckled bashfully. Akira smiled; he found it rather endearing how fast Goro practically turns into a stuttering wreck when he receives praise, how a bright red takes over his entire face, sometimes even reaching the tips of his ears. It was cute. Just then, the bell outside rang to signal that it was time for dinner. Goro shot up, eyes glimmering with determination. "C'mon! We'll _definitely_ be the first ones there today!"

They most definitely were not the first ones there, but that was okay because when they collapsed into their seats at a table close to the wall, chests heaving laboriously, Akira couldn't help but realize that in this past month, he had been so much happier than he could ever remember.

* * *

"My birthday is next week," Goro admitted in a whisper. The two had been quick to move their beds closer together after they had been caught by one of the advisors one night. It was easier for them to talk at night like this, anyway. Akira lifted his head a bit to stare at Goro, who pointedly looked away. "How come you didn't tell me sooner?"

"I dunno," Goro rolled his shoulders, still not meeting Akira's gaze, "I guess I just forgot."

"How do you forget your _own birthday?_" Akira asked incredulously. Goro shyly looked up at him. "I never really celebrated it before." Akira's heart clenched, and it took all of his willpower not to clutch at his chest in agony. How was this child so _innocent_ in a world that had brought him nothing but pain?

'_We'll just have to change that_,' Akira resolutely nodded to himself. He wanted to make sure Goro had a more positive reflection of himself, and that had to start with helping him make happy memories of the day he was brought into this world.

* * *

By the time the second day of June finally rolled around, Akira had already set his plan into motion. Today was going to be about making Goro feel like the most special person in the world; that's what a birthday is supposed to feel like as a child, right? That's why Akira went to the cafeteria workers the morning before to ask them to make Goro's favorite meal for dinner. It would have been greater had it been a weekend, though; maybe he would've been able to take the brunette out somewhere. Instead, it was a Wednesday, so he couldn't really do much. That was okay, though. He could make do with this. Once they'd gotten out of school, Goro met up with him so they could walk home together like always. Akira gave him an apologetic look and shook his head.

"You can go on ahead. I have something I have to do first, so I'll be back a bit later, okay?" Akira explained. Goro's face fell in disappointment, but he nodded anyway. Akira had to remind himself that he'd make it up to the other boy later, lest he give in to the brunette's sad puppy-dog eyes. No, he had to see this through, for _his_ sake…

That was how he found himself in town, one hand over his pocket just to reassure himself that all of his money was still safely tucked away. He'd been saving it all up since he'd received his first allowance, not letting himself spend any of it. He couldn't lose it; without it, this entire plan would be pointless.

During the times he and Goro had come into town together over the weekends, he'd gotten a pretty good feel of the town. The main street was where the majority of the business was. There was a dentist's office, a couple of restaurants, a small park, a game arcade, and some shops and convenience stores. Most importantly, Akira had noted, was a bakery nestled comfortably between a couple of stores. Standing in front of the almost sickeningly-cute pastel pink building, Akira stared up at the modest sign hanging over the entrance: "_Kappu Keiki Confectionaries_". How corny. With a sigh of resignation, he entered the bakery.

There were only a few customers inside; a younger couple idling at the counter presumably waiting for their order and a woman sitting by herself munching away at some kind of cake. Akira awkwardly stood around and waited until the couple had been served and left. Akira approached the counter. There was a young lady behind the counter furiously scrubbing at a pan until she noticed Akira's presence. Her short brown curls bobbed against the nape of her neck with the movement.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Just give a moment," the woman called out as she finished up what she was doing. She settled the clean pan onto a drying rack and yanked off the rubber gloves she'd been wearing, hurrying to dry her hands off. She rushed out towards the counter and smiled sheepishly.

"My apologies, I didn't see you come in. What can I get for you today, young man?" Akira made an unappreciative noise in the back of his throat and made to look up at her, only to nearly lose his footing. This woman… She looked very similar to a certain kind, fluffy-haired girl—almost _unnervingly_ so. Her voice, now that he was thinking about it, was very much like her's, too; high-pitched but somehow soft and easy on the ears. Picking his slackened jaw up off the floor, he looked away, feeling rather flustered from having been so thoroughly thrown-off.

"I— I'm looking for a cake! A birthday cake… Do you, um, have anything under ¥4000," Akira asked, voice shaking. He couldn't quite understand why he was so shaken up over this. Maybe it was because nobody ever really knew anything about Haru's mother, but if this truly was her, Akira thought, it made him feel almost as though he were prying into his friend's private life, albeit completely unintentionally. Seemingly unaware of Akira's inner turmoil, the curly-haired woman smiled brightly down at him.

"Yes, I do have one, actually!" She motioned toward a cake in the far right of the display. It was a simple white cake with an elegant light yellow border around its edge. It wasn't too bare, but it wasn't flashy, either.

"It's perfect—I'll take it!" Akira fumbled for the notes in his pocket. The woman giggled. "Thank you! Let me prepare the box for you," she stated, opening the back of the display and sliding the cake out, removing the protective plastic cover from over it. She then smoothly slid the cake out into a white box with a curvy pink design on the side. Just as she was about the fold the top of the box closed, she paused and glanced back to Akira once more.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Would you like me to write something for you?" She smiled sweetly, and Akira floundered, mouth snapping shut. She seemed to have sensed his hesitation because her smile appeared to grow even wider (if that were even possible). "Don't worry, it's completely free. I can write anything you'd like."

Akira took a moment to consider it, nodding his head in thought before coming to a decision. "Alright, then in that case, could you write…" He gave her the message and she nodded, retreating to the kitchen to retrieve a tube of icing with a fine tip on the end. With a hum, she set to work on neatly inscribing Akira's message onto the cake's smooth surface.

When the cake was finally boxed up and ready to go, Akira slid the money across the counter and she scooped it up, only glancing at it briefly before gently nudging the box toward him with a wink.

"Thank you, I hope your friend's birthday turns out lovely," she crooned, waving him off. Her word choice struck him as odd, but he decided not to let his thoughts linger; he still had a few more preparations to make for this to be perfect.

* * *

By the time Akira finally returned, the sun had already begun to set, painting the sky a beautiful orange-pink gradient. An orange hue was cast over everything, giving off a relaxing vibe. He snuck off to the mess hall to drop off the cake and found one of the tables in the center of the room decorated with a white tablecloth that draped over the edge of the surface. Streamers were suspended over the table with a few colorful balloons tied to the ends. A few colorful boxes were tucked away underneath the table for later. He placed the cake on the table, and just like that, everything fell perfectly into place. It was ready. A hand fell on his shoulder and Akira turned to find the head cook smiling down at him. She was an older woman with greying hair and soft wrinkles engraved into her features, but she was very kind. She had been more than happy when Akira came to her that morning with his request, promising that she would help him set everything up. "Leave it to us," she had said.

"This all looks amazing, thank you so much for helping me with this. I wouldn't have been able to set this all up on my own…" Akira sighed with relief, a small, content smile stretching across his lips. She gave him a gentle yet knowing look. "Takuto's with him right now, giving him little things to do to preoccupy him while we got everything ready. Now that you're back, we can bring him in," she turned away to head to the door, but suddenly paused. She slowly turned and cast him a warm smile. "Gocchan's very lucky to have a friend like you."

A few moments later, a small group of people began to flow into the room; a few of the orphanage's staff workers, one of the counselors, and the rest of the cafeteria workers. They arranged themselves so that they were standing in front of the table, hiding it from immediate view.

"Alright, here we are," a voice announced from the entrance, and there was Mr. Maruki, ushering a very confused-looking Goro into the large room. He took a few uncertain steps towards them, and when the brunette's gaze met his, his brows furrowed as if asking, '_what did you do?_'

Before he could ask anything, however, they all parted, stepping off to either side to reveal their handiwork, their voices all ringing and mixing together into a chorus of: "_Happy Birthday, Goro!_"

Crimson eyes widened, and his mouth fell open in shock. Everything after that moved in slow motion, like watching a car speeding towards you head-on, but not having the power to jump out of the way. Goro's face shifted between several different emotions in the span of a few seconds. His lower lip trembled and his face scrunched up as though he were in pain, and the tears finally spilled. "Wh—" Akira recoiled as if struck, "_why are you crying?!_"

Had he messed it up? Was this whole idea a mistake after all? He hadn't even thought to ask what Goro thought about all of this, and now he's gone and upset—

His inner-ramblings were cut short by Goro's body slamming into his as the shorter boy all but threw himself at Akira, his tiny hands grabbing at the back of his shirt as he buried his face in Akira's chest. He stood stock-still for a long moment before bringing a hand up to pat the shaking brunette's back gently as he silently sobbed into his shirt. He simply offered him a smile and a tissue when he had calmed down enough to pull away. He received a watery smile in return.

The onlookers hid their warm smiles, trying to pretend they weren't watching. Goro had needed this more than they could have known, and Akira grinned softly. The surprise was a success after all.


End file.
